Light Up the Sky a Little
by Hislastembrace
Summary: What if Bella sought out the life of an immortal even after Edward left her behind? What happens when her solitary wish is granted by the Volturi and she is forced to return to the Cullens in a misguided attempt to destroy their coven?
1. Dreaming of Immortality

**Light Up The Sky a Little complete summary: Isabella Swan may have been left behind by the Cullens but she's through with feeling sorry for herself and mourning over what could have been. Finally taking the reigns of her life into her own hands, she plans to take control of her future as she deliberately seeks out the leader of Volturi to be granted the one thing that Edward had refused her - the life of an immortal. Receiving exactly what she has sought out, Bella is thrust back into the life of the Cullens when the Volturi plan to take out the powerful coven. Still bitter over her past, will Bella stand beside the Volturi as they single handily destroy the few people who had ever truly accepted her or will she come to the realization that sometimes it's better to live and let live?**

**A/N: Thank you so much for taking the time to look into my little dabble in Twilight Fanfiction. This story is already complete and I will be uploading these chapters on a regular basis so long as there's an interest shown in my work. And of course, while I would love nothing more than to claim Twilight as my own, it does sadly belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and not myself.**

**- Jenna**

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><p>Salty tears ran down the length of my face, mixing with the tears from the sky. The relentless wind seemed to increase, as did my racking sobs, while the rain poured down harshly. My hair, now black in it's saturation, clung to my face and I couldn't find the will to remove the strands. As I laid on the ground it felt as though my memories were being stripped from me and turned into the perspective of another. I felt as though I were watching myself, not quite reliving the times after Edward had abandoned me, but seeing them from another view<p>

My heart ached from the longing of Edward's return. As foolish as it was, I had still clung to the hope that maybe - just maybe - he would someday return to me. Yet, I knew with every fiber of my being that he would not. After all, I was merely a distraction. God! How amusing he must have found me; what with my unfailing ability to hurt myself and the way I reacted to his closeness. My blushing, my faltering-then-spluttering heart, my knack for embarrassing myself at every corner; oh yes, I was quite the entertaining human.

To Edward, that's all I'd ever be though - a stupid, silly, entertaining human, solely worthy of providing him with a distraction. I suppose I really couldn't blame him much for leaving me. In fact, I'd leave me too if that were even remotely possible.

Edward's leaving hadn't just left me feeling broken and utterly worthless. The pain my heart thoroughly felt inside and out, also took a great toll on Charlie. He wasn't necessarily the type of man who could handle the tears or who knew exactly the right things to say; quite the contrary in fact. I believe after awhile he started to take note of this and stopped trying to talk to me altogether. I didn't blame him for that, I certainly hadn't made it easy.

When Charlie started taking on extra shifts at work, that's when I truly started to notice the ways in which I was affecting him. He didn't sleep because I was usually the one keeping him up with my nightmares. He'd use to check in on me but after awhile I think he even gave up on that and decided it was best to leave me be. He started losing weight because he wasn't eating quite as much and definitely not at home since I had retired from my position as the house chef. He was tired, strung out, and because of me his health was making a steady decline. I couldn't simply lay around and watch as he let himself go. It hurt me more to know that I was hurting him.

Why did Edward have to pick me? Of all the stupid, clumsy, female humans he could have, why me? Was it because I didn't want him as desperately as the other girls? Because I saw through his facade? Because to him, my mind was silent?

Why did he have to tear my life apart?

I shook my head, instantly working to dispel the thought. It had been five months now and after everything I had been through, I was finally through with feeling sorry for myself. For once I was going to take action and be the master of my own future. Edward may have taken my heart and soul when he left, but he had not taken my willingness to live. The way I looked at it, if I hadn't died yet, there had to have something fighting to keep me alive.

All those reasons were what had drawn me here in the first place. In all reality, the thought hadn't crossed my mind until only recently but I knew that it made sense. Edward didn't have to want me, didn't have to change me, so long as I found my loophole. And find I did.

Egging myself on further, I found myself staring at the city's welcoming iron gate. I had finally made my way to Volterra - home of the Volturi. At that I couldn't stop the velvety voice in my head from growling in disgust.

"Bella, think about this. You don't know what you're doing," it hissed. I smiled bitterly as I took a step forward.

Hearing his voice trying to contradict the decision I had come to only increased my determination. Never again would I let him play a part in influencing me away from what I truly wanted. This would be it; I was finally taking the reigns and doing what I wanted for once.

A guard standing just on the other side of the wrought iron, smiled slightly, "Hello, miss."

While his stance was nothing but casual I could see his eyes looking at me cautiously. Yes, nothing like a petite sickly looking teenager coming to a big city to start trouble! Clearly he could have taken me before I'd even had the attempt to struggle against him; his caution was unnecessary.

I cleared my throat, dislodging the lump that had come to form there. I wasn't scared, was I?

"Hello," I tried.

My voice came out sounding strangled, and foreign even to my own ears. Taking a deep breath and correcting my slumped posture, I met the eyes of the guard before me and gasped at what I found there.

Unlike Edward's eyes, or any of the other Cullen's for that matter, these orbs were not the golden sea that I had previously enjoyed losing myself in. No, these were a disturbingly vibrant ruby colour and not at all what I had been anticipating to see. Then again, hadn't Edward told me of the Volturi's lifestyle on my birthday? What more could I have been expecting? Clearly I hadn't thought too far ahead of myself.

"We've been waiting for you," the guard said quietly.

Not able to tear myself away from his gaze, I listened as the voice in my head growled darkly. The ruby red orbs staring back at me reflected lives of the less than fortunate humans who had come before me, and left me reeling.

He pulled on my arm roughly, dragging me closer into his side as the gate opened for us to make our entrance. I allowed him to lead me, no matter how tightly he grasped me, as I knew that this was no longer my territory. I knew nothing about Volterra other than that if this guard weren't with me, I'd be sure to cross paths with another vampire and perhaps that one wouldn't ignore the scent of my blood coursing just beneath my skin.

"W-where are you taking me?" I stuttered, trying to get my voice to cooperate. It had been so long since I'd used it for more complex things, than a solitary one word answer.

"To Aro," he answered bitterly.

Well, that had worked out better than planned. If my intentions were ever to become a reality, I would need the notorious leader's help.

The guard sighed deeply and I arched my eyebrow up at him. Seeming to sense the attention he had drawn to himself, he spoke without so much as glancing down at me. I guessed he didn't have to and I couldn't necessarily complain; it spared me from having to see death that his face held in it.

"I've forgotten how incredibly slow humans are. Your pace is horribly painful to follow."

My lips pursed together. Of course I couldn't be as fast as he was - hadn't Edward pointed that out thoroughly enough in the past? I didn't need that reminder right now. Although, if I had any say in it, I wouldn't be this slow for much longer.

The guard pulled back on my arm slightly as we came to the end of an alley-way. Surely this wasn't where he meant to take me. This didn't look at all how I would have expected. Aro couldn't possibly be meeting me here, could he?

Removing the cover on a drain I had only just noticed in front of our feet, the guard looked up at me expectantly. My eyebrow arched in curiosity. What exactly was he expecting me to do here?

"Down the drain," he said, motioning to the dark pit at our feet. I hadn't missed his condescending tone; it wasn't my fault I didn't automatically assume we'd be traveling through the city's drainage sytem.

I bit back my growing refusals as I slowly sat myself on the edge to which I would be expected to fall from. I wasn't sure if I had a fear of small dark places but I supposed this would be as good a time as any to find out. I swallowed thickly.

"You're sure there's-,"

"Down the drain," he repeated, effectively cutting off my request for another way to go.

The guard took hold of both my wrists in his hand, ignoring my strangled yelp, as he held me dangling over the hole. This was it. No turning back now. I closed my eyes tightly as he dropped me down.

I worked desperately to swallow my screams, keeping my lips pursed together tightly so as not to let on to my extreme terror. In all reality though, I supposed the spluttering rate at which my heart was currently beating, clued him on.

Even so, the experience itself had been short lived and in all entirety, not that bad either once you got past the initial fear of falling.

I soon found myself making contact with cold, hard stones. For anyone less accident prone than myself, those said stones wouldn't have been so up close and personal to my face but clearly, I couldn't go an hour without finding a way to further implicate myself. Quickly pulling myself up to my feet and preying that no one had seen me, I peered up cautiously into the dran from which I had fallen.

From just above a feint light shown down and slightly illuminated the area in which I stood. Almost as suddenly as I had noticed it, the light vanished until the guard reappeared at my side. Not at all to my surprise, he landed on the soles of his feet right before me. However, his eyes held a slight gleam to them that hadn't been there previous and it was then that I noticed a slight twitch to the corner of his lips.

My face became heated as I came to the realization that he had in fact heard my less than graceful entrance. Damn vampire.

A quiet chuckle escaped him momentarily as he latched onto my wrist yet again.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" I asked bitterly.

"If I knew humans could be as entertaining as you, I might have kept one around longer," he mused. I glowered up at him.

Not. Funny.

The guard began towing me along beside him. The sound of my staggering footsteps echoed through the black space around us; it sounded wide, but I couldn't be sure. Outside of my still frantic heartbeat, there were no other sounds, besides my feet on the wet stones beneath us. The only exception to this was just once, when my escort sighed impatiently from beside me, yet again.

So we're back to being impatient, are we?

I wanted desperately to know where we were-where I would finally get to plead for what I wanted; as if that would somehow make it better, to know in advance. I knew I would beg and plead until Aro granted me the one thing that Edward had stubbornly refused me. What I didn't know was if Aro would be so willing to accept me either. He certainly didn't have any reason to...

As we came to the end of the tunnel I could make out a grate before us—the iron bars were rusting, but as thick as my arm. A small door made of thinner, interlaced bars was standing open. As I and the guard stepped through the door I could hear as the grille slammed shut with a clang, followed by the snap of a lock. Suddenly I was too afraid to glance behind me.

On the other side of the long room was a low, heavy wooden door. It was very thick—as I could tell because it, too, stood open.

We stepped through the door, and I glanced around me in surprise, relaxing automatically.

We were now standing in a brightly lit, though oddly unremarkable hallway. The walls were off-white, the floor carpeted in industrial gray. Common rectangular fluorescent lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling. This hall seemed very benign after the gloom of the ghoulish stone sewers.

Before I could take in anymore of this unfamiliar room, I was being pulled along to an awaiting elevator. I listened as the heavy door too, slammed shut behind us and a bolt was slid into place.

Perhaps coming here wasn't the best of my decisions. Of course, Aro would never grant me the one thing that Edward had so long refused. Why would he allow me to become one of them when I was nothing more than a silly human who knew too much? I was practically handing myself over to these vampires on a silver fucking platter. The velvety voice in my head groaned at the conclusion I had just come to. Apparently we were finally in agreement with on and other. How pleasant.

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><p><strong>If you've come so far as to reach the bottom of this chapter, why not review and let me know what you think? Pretty please? Contrary to any prior belief, I don't bite! And besides, reviews make the world go 'round. We wouldn't want to mess with that now, would we? <strong>

**Review, review, review!**


	2. As I Move Forward

**As I mentioned before, I in no way claim to own Twilight or any of ideas that are expressed in the Saga. I simply use the wonderful characters that Stephenie Meyer has created in my own work.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two:<strong>

"Ah, why Felix you've returned!" Aro chimed happily.

I watched him in awe as he drifted towards us with a grace so profound that I doubted even Alice could have matched the level of refinement in which he held in his fluidly movements.

I was only more astonished as he floated closer and I could clearly see his face. The painting that I had seen of him in Carlisle's study had hardly done him justice though I assumed it would be quite the task to so much as attempt. His was not entirely like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him and this I could see clearly for he had did not approach us alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the alert manner of bodyguards.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or roll my eyes at the idiocy in their precautions. I was a human for Christ's sake! Although I knew that they wouldn't appreciate either reaction and somehow I managed to refrain from doing so. However, it still seemed rather obvious that I would in no way be able to harm their leader and therefore their precautions should have been rendered unnecessary to begin with. Yet, with more thought behind their actions, it could be assumed that they were working to intimidate me rather than protect their leader, though I had no doubt that they would in a second's notice.

"And with our darling Isabella as well!" He rejoiced, nearly bubbling over with what to me, seemed an unfathomable amount of excitement over someone he had only just seen.

Realizing that he had used my name without my having to introduce myself, I stared on at him in utter disbelief.

_How did he know? _

This had clearly caught me off guard. I had only just reached the decision to come to Volterra and my knowledge of this particular coven was very limited to what little information the Cullen's had shared with me. So how then didn't Aro and the rest of his guard seem to recognize me when I hardly knew them? Then again, with a coven so large and with such vast variation in abilities, it couldn't be hard to have someone who could have seen me coming.

"Yes master," Felix nodded before quickly disappearing from the way we had come. It was left to my imaginings as to why he hadn't stayed. Perhaps he was sent to gather someone else? Although, I strongly doubted the Volturi welcomed many guests behind their closed doors; let alone the kind that required escorting.

"How I love a vist from family. They are so rare here, really. I'm starting to think I have been disowned!" Aro mused playfully, causing me to question whether or not I had heard him correctly.

Surely he was not referring to me as family. That wouldn't make any sense for him to do so. I wasn't a part of this coven, let alone any other. I was a lone human who had come to fork in the road and decided that _this_ would be the best place to come to, let alone my now consistent worry that I had been wrong.

"Why, of course you haven't any clue as to what I'm saying, have you?" he asked me lightly and I shook my head warily in response.

"You see, I have a fervent belief that all vampires are of a certain family relation to one and other. After all, we've each been created from the venom of our ancestors at some point in time. Seeing as how the Cullen's scent lingers on you yet -though weakly I will say- I am to assume that they cared for you. As I respect the Cullen's, I will respect you as well. Therefore, you will be treated as family." he explained.

I hated his more friendly causalities. It felt as though they were all a part of some higher plot that I was so naively unaware of. However, I decided it was best not to call him out on my suspicions. If he was willing to consider treating me with respect, as apposed to looking at me as a mere piece of meat, I had no right to question him and thus provoke him.

Instead I decided to see just how much this vampire knew of my visit to Italy.

"You," I started hesitantly, "Must know why I'm here then?"

I quickly glanced down at my suddenly all-too-interesting shoes. They were the far better option than having to look into the eyes of a killer; the ones that would surely be the last I'd look into before he ended my life as he had all the humans before me.

I shivered as Aro's cool, leathery hand, grasped my chin lightly.

"Please look at me, mia dolce," Aro cooed.

A solitary tear escaped my eye and ran down my cheek, effectively betraying the strong front I had meant to uphold. More than anything I was terrified of this being the end because as much as I hated the life I had been living, I wasn't ready to let it all go.

"Mia principessa por favore," Aro continued in what I could only assume was Italian. Did he not realize that I was from the states and the farthest thing from a well spoken Italian? Clearly he did not.

"I beg you your pardon," I muttered quietly, still refusing to look up, "but I do not know Italian."

Aro's hand left my face instantly as his loud guffaw erupted and echoed around us. Adding to my embarrassment, my face reddened greatly. Why did I have to open my mouth?

_Because you're far too ridiculous for your own good._

Yes, the voice in my head and I were greatly in agreement on that matter.

"Your name has tricked me then, my sweet! Thankfully we have more than enough time in the future to correct that. Italian would suit you well, I think."

I gasped as his words connected in my head. Did this mean...?

"Of course I am aware of the request you intend on asking me and I plan on granting you that. A gift so prominent in a human, shows great promise once you've been changed. I look forward to seeing just how much of a shield you have there."

This time I could no longer keep myself looking down but instead, glanced up at the possibly insane man before me. I wondered idly if vampires had ever been committed before. More than likely not but it was an intriging idea.

"W-what?" I spluttered loudly.

Aro's eyebrows scrunched together in concentration, "I assume you know of our extra...abilities so to speak, do you not?"

"Well yes, I know that certain vampires have more advanced capabilities but I don't understand what you're suggesting about _me,"_ I said, my curiosity making me bold.

"I don't know how much the Cullen's have told you but I myself have an ability that could be interpreted as a form of mind reading," here I nodded in recognition, "from something so simple as a touch I can read every thought that has ever transpired in someone's mind. It could be a simple conversation that happened mere minutes ago, or even something so far back in human memories that you may have forgotten it yourself. You however, I cannot read which leads me to believe that you are blocking me out."

"E-E-Edward couldn't read my mind either," I murmured and silently thanked Aro as he overlooked my stumbling across Edward's name. It had been so long since I'd spoken it that I'd just about forgotten how to.

Aro rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "That is quite intriguing dear one, and all the more reason to have you changed. I can only begin to imagine the possibilities of your gift."

I couldn't keep myself from clarifying, "Really? You think I have a gift?"

Remembering how upset I had been when Edward told me that he couldn't read my mind, made me want to laugh now. Then I had thought that there was something wrong with the functioning of my brain and while I still hadn't ruled that out entirely, I liked thinking that in some way I was destined for the life of a vampire.

"It is quite clear to me that you have, or at least will, deem the majority of our abilities useless and that is only in your human state! There is no questioning whether or not you possess an ability beyond the norm. The only thing we have yet to wonder over is how strong it will become once you are one of us. I hadn't seen such promising talent since finding Jane and Alec centuries ago. It is very rare."

Aro tilted his head slightly, shifting my direction to that of two impossibly beautiful figures. They looked younger than all the rest, possibly closer to my age if not a couple years younger though not many.

Jane glared at me, obviously not liking the comparison, and I shrank back from her in terror. Where Aro was welcoming, she most certainly was not. She hissed, her expression turning strangely feline. Leaning forward she appeared as though she were about to pounce on me.

"Now, don't be put out dear one," Aro said in a placating tone, placing a powder-light hand on her shoulder, "She confounds us all…Or at least, I am positive that she will eventually."

I couldn't conceal the smile that played out on my lips; so unexpected as it was. It had been my first real smile in months and as I returned my attention to Aro, I knew full well that I would be protected here. Jane didn't have to like me but she sure as hell wouldn't be able to touch me. I'd be lying if I said that that didn't make me even the slightest bit smug.

"Are you ready?" Aro asked lightly.

It was this one question that carried the potential of changing my world from everything that it was and everything that it ever would be. Almost hungrily I agreed and almost instantaneously, it seemed that my whole way of life had shifted from beneath very my feet.

_Take that Edward. There's nothing you can do about it now._

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><p><strong>Note: Throughout this story, there will be some Italian though I promise it will not effect your understanding of the story itself. Any and all translations will be provided at the end of each chapter that requires a new translation from here on out.<br>**

**Mia dolce - my sweet**

**Mia principessa - My princess**

**Please - per favore**

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><p><strong>**Thank you so much for reading thus far and please don't forget to take a moment and review. It truly means the world to any author, even if you're only just stopping in to say Hi.<em>**<em>**_  
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